Travel Musings of a New Yorker

How-To: Go from DEN to Union Station

I was a tad confused when I arrived at Denver International Airport last week and had to find my way to Downtown Denver. Signage wasn’t great, so I thought I’d write a how-to guide on here so you don’t wind up as confused as I was. Full disclosure: It’s going to be a short guide because it’s not that hard once you know where to go.

I flew JetBlue into Denver so I wound up exiting into Gate A. Pro-tip: Most airlines fly into Gate A, except Delta, which flies out of Gate B, I don’t know why that’s just how it is.

When I disembarked the plane, I looked around and then asked an employee of the airport and they gave me directions that I couldn’t remember for the life of me but I somehow wound up at the shuttle train which transports people between Gate A, Gate B, Gate C, and “Terminal.” “Terminal” is the confusing term they use to identify the entryway to the airport – ie. where you go through security. The shuttle train is free – it’s like the JFK Air Train in between terminals in NYC.

Side note: If you’re looking for the creepy murals that DEN is famous for, they’re currently in storage because “Terminal” is under construction, but as you exit, you can see signs on the construction walls poking fun at the conspiracy theories people have created.

I found my way to “Terminal” and followed the signs to “Transit Center” outside of DEN and then found the train tracks heading in the direction of the city (hint: it’s all of them) and purchased a ticket at one of the electronic ticket booths.

The tickets are $9 one way to Downtown Denver, which totally isn’t bad considering it’s a 35 minute ride and your only other option is a $30 Uber. These tickets are good for 24 hours, so my suggestion is do your good deed for the day when you’ve reached Union Station and give your ticket to someone waiting online to buy one. Not everyone is as lucky and can think of $9 as a “good price.” This is what I did on my way back (because I didn’t think of it the first time!). #goodsamaritan

I think it was about 9 stops into Downtown Denver and along the way you’ll get to see the beautiful Rocky Mountains. That was as close as I got to nature while i was in Colorado because hiking isn’t my thing.

So, that’s it. You’ll know you’ve arrived at Union Station because it’ll be the last stop and it’ll look like a city train station (although it’s outdoors). I hope this helps you navigate the enormous monster of an airport that is DEN when you get there.